“I’ve come to the point where I just can’t make a movie without addressing the problem of humanity as part of an ecosystem.”

– Hayao Miyazaki

Dear Hayao Miyazaki,

It all started one afternoon in my uncle’s room on a hot and humid summer day in The Bronx in 1999. My uncle popped Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime) in the VCR and my brother, cousin and I sat in awe for 134 minutes. Then I watched it again. And again. And again. I fell in love with Princess Mononoke that day, and concurrently with everything that you breathed life into.

Mononoke was different yet so familiar, like a story I knew I always needed to hear. There was violence, industrialization and humans juxtaposed against nature, spirits and gods. But it was all beautiful. I didn’t know who was bad and who was good. It was strange not knowing who to root for, especially at 12 years old. But then I realized that was the point. It’s rare in family films that the line isn’t distinct between the hero and the villain. Life isn’t black and white, and through your films you showed us and prepared children for the realities of the world.

After Mononoke, I devoured any and everything you made that I could get my hands on, from Porco Rosso, Spirited Away, Laputa: Castle in the Sky and much more. Totoro,Kiki and Nausicaä represent a lot of your recurring themes such as reverence for nature, highlighting independence and encouraging pacifism but depicted in such magical ways. Disney had female characters, some strong, some not. But you are constantly representing strong female characters in your work. They were not always likable, but always real, and I respect and admire you for that. That is what young girls and boys need to see.

You are one of the worlds greatest directors of animation and writers to grace this planet. Your films tickle my soul and you make the world a better place.

TETSUOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Sorry, it’s a reflex. I couldn’t help myself. AKIRA is one of my favorite anime films of all time, and one of my favorite films in general. The manga series was written and drawn by Katsuhiro Otomo. Otomo also directed the landmark film which changed anime films from that moment on.

I remember when I first saw AKIRA, I was young and although I didn’t “get it” I still instantly fell in love with it and all its intensity. Now that I’m older whenever I rewatch AKIRA I find that I still don’t fully “get it”, but I think that’s why I, and so many people, love AKIRA so much. This manga and anime film is bursting with complexity the conversation about it will never end!

Before I get carried away let’s move on to what you came here to see, Akira tattoos!

I include all the information about the tattoo that was available. If you are interested in having me feature your geeky tattoo on a future or previous Tattoo Tuesday feel free to email me at girlgonegeekblog[at]gmail.com.

“I cut it out of the second page of the graphic novel, and the tattoo artist blew it up by probably 30%” [Source: Tatoosbydesign.com]

“Here is a pic of my Akira rib piece in progress. Four sessions down, hopefully one to go!” [Source: Travis Fights Giants Blog]

Maurilio Duarte Nunes Augusto says this about his tattoo: “There is nothing like mark your own body with something that means A LOT to you, and makes you remember for all your life why you’d become who you are. AKIRA was the manga which opened my eyes to my passion and made want do draw more than ever. So, I asked to , my former but eternal student, to mark definitely my body with this design, made by myself. Crazy? I’ve seen worst tattoos before, and it makes complete sense TO ME. I’ll never regret it, it’s part of my life, of my soul and now, it’s part of my body as well. The memory of AKIRA will live in our hearts forever.” [Source: mauriliodna.deviantart.com] Continue reading →

“Devil’s Playground returned to Bordello on January 8 for Anime Babes, a burlesque show dedicated to Japanese animation favorites. Characters from Pokemon, Tokyo Mew Mew, Fullmetal Alchemist, Sailor Moon, Speed Racer and Neon Genesis Evangelion made an appearance throughout the night. (LA Weekly)”

But wait, they don’t have Faye (Cowboy Bebop)?! Come on! They wouldn’t even have to sex-up her outfit either since her gravity defying short shorts which barely supported by suspenders, cropped shirt are revealing enough to start with. Well here’s hoping they have a part two, since they have done that with previous shows. Who would you want to see burlesqued up if they have a part two?

I’m happy that Devil’s Playground does these Geeky Burlesque shows but to be honest I feel like I’ve seen better cosplay at cons #imjustsayin.

Mona and Nathan made this adorable Totoro Christmas card which I’m featuring as the Picture of the Week. Christmas is on Saturday and what better way to represent that with everyone’s favorite forest spirit Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro.

This past Sunday was my 200th post here on Girl Gone Geek Blog and I decided to celebrate by having a giveaway. I will be giving away a Kodama decal, all you have to do is go here and tell me what your favorite Miyazaki film is and why, that’s it! I will be chosing the winner Sunday, November 14th. Tell your friends!

Staying in the Miyazaki moment, (because honestly how could you not the man is a genius!) this weeks Tattoo Tuesday theme is Miyazaki movies! A majority of the tattoos I found were Princess Mononoke, which is my favorite. If you are wondering where Totoro is don’t fret! I previously did a Totoro Tattoo Tuesday which you can see here.

I <3 Hayao Miyazaki. Watching his anime films tickle my soul.

If you are interested in having me feature your geeky tattoo on a future Tattoo Tuesdayfeel free to email me at girlgonegeekblog[at]gmail.com.

This is the 200th post on Girl Gone Geek Blog!

If you are wondering why I’m “celebrating” post 200 and not post 100 it’s because I blogged right on by post 100 without noticing, typical me! I started Girl Gone Geek Blog (GGGB) May 27th of this year. What began as a hobby to share my little obsessions with the citizens of The Interwebs has turned into so much more than I had imagined!

While searching for awesome geekery to blog about I discovered so many amazing blogs, websites which you should also check out, most of my favorites are on my Blog Roll on the left of the site. Despite how cliché it sounds, the best part of GGGB was getting the chance to “meet” all of you who read my blog on a regular and send me such positive responses on here. And how could I forget all of my wonderful geeky/gamer/otakus/fangirl/fanboy twitter friends!

Here’s a few of my favorite posts thus far (it may seem like a lot but it’s out of 200!):

I sat in on the FUNimation Panel on Friday Oct. 8th which was pretty much just a bunch of clips and trailers for shows that have already aired but are coming to DVD soon. So yeah… it wasn’t that big of a deal. When it comes to anime I am extremely picky so it’s hard for me to see an anime I really like and keep up with it, but I do want to check out Eden of the East and Corpse Bride. Below are some of the shows they discussed and their DVD release dates.

DVD Season 2- 10/12/10- “Hetalia a webcomic, later adapted as a manga and an anime series, by Hidekaz Himaruya. The series presents an allegorical interpretation of political and historic events, particularly of the World War II era, in which the various countries are represented by anthropomorphic characters (wiki).”

I also hear some people say it is racists. I haven’t watched it yet but I hear it’s a matter of opinion. I haven’t watched this show but I did get the voice actors to sign some Hetalia stuff and I was wearing my TARDIS shirt that day and me and one of the voice actors started gushing about David Tennant and he said he might have to opportunity to work with him and I told him to give David a kiss for me when he sees him! :)